News, insights and updates from the Adobe Primetime team on TV delivery and monetization across IP‐connected screens

Adobe Primetime Continues to Drive TV Everywhere Momentum

Today we are announcing some great momentum for Adobe Primetime PayTV Pass (formerly Adobe Pass), as well as for the overall industry movement of TV Everywhere. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.) is the latest Adobe Primetime customer delivering TV across screens as a leader in driving TV Everywhere adoption. To date, TV Everywhere has experienced bursts of success with large scale events like the Olympics and March Madness, but there has not been a critical mass of everyday use. That is now starting to change with more premium content coming online (both live linear and VOD), an increasing shift in viewership from traditional TV to online, and greater opportunities for content owners to monetize those online views thanks to innovative technologies such as Adobe Primetime.

In comparing the first half of 2013 with the same period last year, Adobe Digital Index has seen a 400% increase in authenticated streams, and the total number of Adobe Primetime PayTV Pass-enabled websites and apps has doubled across devices from 50 to more than 100. Online video consumption habits are definitely changing given the ever expanding breadth of devices and platforms – with tablets alone accounting for a 150% increase in video starts from Q2 2012 to Q2 2013. Web, iOS, and Android still represent the bulk of consumption, but other connected devices such as Xbox, Roku, Apple TV, and Smart TVs are rapidly gaining traction. Our data shows that 16% of U.S. households are watching pay-TV online as of September 2013 – representing more than100% growth since December 2012. We delivered 29.3 billion video streams to Adobe customers in Q3 2013 – up 124% year-over-year.

The conversations we are now having with our customers also suggest that the tipping point for mass TV Everywhere adoption is upon us. Whereas phase one of TV Everywhere was about “checking the box” to appease the pay TV operators, our programmer customers and pay TV partners alike are now focusing on growth with an emphasis on content discoverability, device expansion, and user experience. And most telling in my opinion, we are now getting considerable interest in our upcoming fraud limiting services to ensure people aren’t sharing credentials or otherwise trying to game the system. Considering the early critics questioned whether the traffic would come at all, it’s a nice twist that too much consumption has now become a concern!

We’re thrilled to see increased momentum around TV Everywhere on the rise with Adobe Primetime helping pave the way for success. Within two years, we expect TV Everywhere will advance with:

Every major TV channel having a TV Everywhere presence via websites or apps

The reported 40% of Internet-connect TVs in U.S. households (LGR Research) will actually be in use

We also found that mobile video viewing is up more than 2x year-over-year (YoY). Consumers of video content via mobile devices are on the rise (see graphs below). An Adobe Digital Index review of 1 billion video starts to 50 branded sites shows that mobile video viewing is up 134% YoY with tablets growing the fastest up 150% YoY.

The growing mobile audience provides incremental engagement and revenue opportunities for advertising. Tablet viewers, in particular, are early adopters who typically spend more money, book more trips, and consume more media content. Publishers can capitalize on this target audience with high CPMs (Cost Per thousand Impressions) and incremental impressions. Publishers may also consider creating more mobile-specific content to promote the use of mobile devices and further train consumers to use companion devices while watching a show live or online.

We’ve said that 2013 would be the year that TV Everywhere takes off and our forecast is holding true. Stay tuned for more updates and momentum coming as we head into 2014!